Recently, I’ve been making a lot of empanadas at our house, which we call pastelillos. My kids are really loving the pastelillos de pizza (pizza empanadas) I introduced to them and they’re also fond of pastelillos de queso (cheese empanadas). The other day I wanted to play with the flavor of sweet potatoes to see if I could get the kids to eat more of them and thought about adding cream cheese to them. They’re already fans of cream cheese, so I figured this combination would work well. I was not disappointed and am rather surprised at just how tasty these sweet potato and cream cheese empanadas turned out! Try them for yourself with the easy recipe below!

Sweet Potato & Cream Cheese Empanadas Recipe

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, peeled, cubed, and rinsed

Salt, to taste

Cinnamon, to taste

8 oz cream cheese, softened

Empanada discs, 1 package thawed per instructions – Depending on where you live, you may find these in the freezer section with other Latin/Caribbean products.

Olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place sweet potatoes in a microwave steam cooking bag and steam according to directions. I steamed my potatoes for 6-7 minutes, but you should adjust the time depending on how full the bag is and what the directions suggest. (Alternatively, boil the sweet potatoes until fork-tender.)

Pour sweet potatoes into a large bowl and begin to mash.

Add salt and cinnamon to taste. Continue mashing, making sure to mix ingredients.

Line empanada discs on baking sheet, leaving ample space between each one.

Fold each empanada disc half-way to make a half-moon shape and pinch closed with a fork around the edge.

Brush each empanada around the edges and over the top with a little olive oil and bake in preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. (Note: You can fry your empanadas too, which is how they are traditionally cooked.)

Enjoy your empanadas as an appetizer, quick snack, or fun way to get the kids to eat sweet potatoes! You can even serve these with a sauce or dip of your liking for a different taste.

In many Puerto Rican households, you can always tell when the holiday season has begun because coquito begins to make an appearance. Coquito is a Puerto Rican holiday drink and just how eggnog is loved in American households during the holidays, coquito also has a special place. It’s hard to find a Puerto Rican household without coquito on Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) or Navidad (Christmas), as it’s common to serve it alongside our traditional meal of arroz con gandules, pernil and pasteles.

Just like many foods, the coquito recipe may vary slightly depending on the individual. Some people make coquito with egg and others without, but there’s no denying the basic ingredients of coconut, milk, and rum. It makes for a deliciously rich and creamy holiday cocktail, perfect for your holiday entertaining! Let me show you in the video below how to make coquito – you’ll see it’s ridiculously simple! Read on for the full recipe, using ingredients you can find at your local Walmart (save for the rum).

Coquito Recipe (Puerto Rican Eggnog-ish Holiday Drink)

Ingredients

How to Make Coquito

Add all ingredients to blender.

Blend on low speed until mixed well and pour into large bottle.

Chill in refrigerator for best taste.

Serve with more cinnamon sprinkled on top. Enjoy!

Now that you know how to make coquito, you can delight your holiday party guests with the creamy, coconut drink. If you need more cocktail recipes for your holiday entertaining, check out the Walmart Holiday Entertaining Guide! You’ll also find many how-to videos on the entertaining guide to help you put together a wonderful party!

When it comes to Puerto Rican desserts and pastries, there is one I probably love even more than pastelillos de guayaba – quesitos. Quesitos have a nostalgic place in my heart as I have fond memories of eating this delicacy as a child in Puerto Rico and often asking my parents to buy me some when we visited a bakery. This Puerto Rican cheese puff pastry is super delicious and easy to make, something I wish I had known earlier!

If you’re looking for a simple dessert recipe for your holiday entertaining, try this quesitos recipe and watch the video below so you can see how to make quesitos, with common ingredients you can find at Walmart. Not only will party attendees gush over how delectable they are, but you’ll feel good about bringing something other than holiday cookies to the party!

Quesitos Recipe (Puerto Rican Cheese Puff Pastries)

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese, softened

4 Tbsp sugar (substitute with Splenda for a sugar-free version)

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 puff pastry sheet, thawed according to package directions

1 egg white

How to Make Quesitos

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Add sugar and vanilla extract to cream cheese in a medium or large bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix on low until cream cheese has a soft, whipped texture.

Cut pastry sheet into 9 4×4 squares.

Add about 1 tsp of cream cheese mixture to middle of each square, at an angle.

Fold pastry sheet by bringing one side to the middle, then the other side. Pinch in the middle to seal. (Alternatively, you can add cream cheese mixture along the side of a square and roll pastry sheet closed, pinching each side to seal.)

Place quesitos on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly brush each quesito with egg white, then sprinkle with sugar on top.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden brown.

Let quesitos cool before indulging!

More Puerto Rican Dessert Recipes for Holiday Entertaining

Check out these dessert ideas that are also great for your holiday entertaining!

You can get even more holiday entertaining ideas and recipes (not just for dessert!) with the Walmart Holiday Entertaining Guide. It has easy, budget-friendly ideas for everything from breakfast and appetizers, to desserts and cocktails! (Check out the mac & cheese bacon bowls – I tried these during a Walmart headquarters trip and they really are divine!) You’ll also find many how-to videos on the entertaining guide to help you put together a wonderful party!

Now that you know how to make quesitos, will you be trying our quesitos recipe for your holiday party?

One of my favorite Puerto Rican fried delicacies is rellenos de papa or papas rellenas (stuffed potato balls). Traditionally made with ground beef or chicken, the combination of the crispy fried outer shell, soft potato inside, and delicious meat filling, makes for a delightful treat. My kids have grown to love papas rellenas and ask to buy some whenever we go to local Latin restaurants. As I thought about a Thanksgiving leftovers recipe to share with you, I knew that transforming leftover mashed potatoes from your Thanksgiving meal into rellenos de papa would be perfect! Instead of the traditional rellenos de papa (ground beef stuffed potato balls), I decided to give this delicacy a twist and use bacon and cheese for the filling. Check out the recipe below so you too can use up those leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving and make your own Puerto Rican style bacon and cheese stuffed potato balls! And if you need more Thanksgiving ideas, check out the Walmart Holiday Hub [aff], full of recipes and how-to videos!

Directions

Scoop up about 1 Tbsp of mashed potato mixture and roll into a ball. (Alternatively, you could roll mashed potatoes only into a ball, THEN add the bacon and cheese into the middle, before closing up your potato ball. I combined my ingredients into one mixture because my kids prefer it that way, rather than finding the filling in the middle.)

Growing up, Thanksgiving in my family always included a mix of traditional Puerto Rican food. Along with the turkey, you could always find yellow rice on the table, sometimes beans, and many times, guineos en escabeche – green bananas tossed with sauteed onions, olive oil, and vinegar. Guineos en escabeche is easy to make and complements arroz con gandules (yellow rice with pigeon peas) very well. If you’re looking for a new and different Thanksgiving side dish idea, try making these Puerto Rican guineos en escabeche! And for more Thanksgiving side dish ideas, check out the Walmart Holiday Hub [aff], full of recipes and how-to videos!

8. Serve as-is (warm) or refrigerate to serve later (cold). Guineos en escabeche is a great side dish to make-ahead the night before Thanksgiving!

Guineos en escabeche is widely-known in Puerto Rico and typically eaten as a side dish or appetizer, especially for parties or a family get-together. My mom typically made guineos en escabeche as one of her Thanksgiving side dishes, which perfectly complemented the rest of our Puerto Rican Thanksgiving meal!

Will guineos en escabeche make it to your Thanksgiving table this year? What non-traditional side dishes do you serve for Thanksgiving?

As Labor Day approaches, you may be looking for a fun or different recipe to make for any Labor Day parties you’re attending or perhaps just to add to your grilled meal. Though I’m sure you’re familiar with a variety of macaroni salad recipes, today I’m going to share my mami’s recipe with you! Her Puerto Rican style macaroni salad recipe is simple, blending familiar flavors in a unique way to create a delicious macaroni salad I’m sure you’ll love! It’s also easy to make and great for making ahead of time before a get-together! Ready to give this Puerto Rican macaroni salad recipe a try? Check out the recipe below, using ingredients you can purchase during your next grocery shopping trip at your local Walmart.

Puerto Rican Style Macaroni Salad Recipe

Ingredients

1 16 oz box of elbow macaroni pasta

5 Tbsp olive oil

9-10 green Spanish salad olives, diced – plus 1/2 tsp of the liquid

1 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp white vinegar

1 carrot, rinsed and shredded

2 cups mayonnaise

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, adding macaroni, once boiling.

Cook macaroni to package directions (until al dente) and strain under running cold water. This will help stop the pasta from cooking further, so it won’t get too soft.

Add macaroni back to pot. Stir in olive oil.

Add in all of the remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add more salt, if necessary, to taste.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day holiday! Whether you’ll be out taking advantage of some of the Labor Day sales, or simply relaxing at home, here are plenty of ideas for celebrating this Labor Day weekend!

When living in Puerto Rico, we used to eat all kinds of pastelillos, more commonly referred to throughout the rest of Latin America as either empanadillas or empanadas (and sometimes pastelitos too). The fillings varied from pastelillos de carne (ground beef empanadas) to pastelillos de cangrejo (crab empanadas), but some of the most unique pastelillos I ate growing up were pastelillos de pizza (pizza empanadas). As a child, the combination of pizza flavors inside the crispy empanada dough made for a pretty awesome snack. When thinking of after-school snacks I could make for my own children now that school is back in session, I knew I had to introduce them to pastelillos de pizza! Plus, they are easy to make with little ingredients required, making pastelillos de pizza an affordable, simple, and delicious after-school snack idea your children are sure to love! Check out the easy recipe below, using ingredients you can find at Walmart.

Ingredients

Empanada discs, 1 package thawed per instructions – Depending on where you live, you may find these in the freezer section with other Latin/Caribbean products. A pack of 10 discs cost me $1.78.

Pizza sauce

Pepperoni slices

Shredded cheese, your preference – I used a 6 cheese Italian blend

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and spray with cooking spray.
2. Line empanada discs on cookie sheet, leaving ample space between each one.
3. Place about 1/2 Tbsp of pizza sauce on center of each empanada disc and spread outward.

4. Then, top with about 2 slices of pepperoni per disc, and a handful of shredded cheese. (Use your discretion so that each disc is not over-filled, but so each empanada has enough filling when eating. Remember the cheese will melt.)
5. Fold each empanada disc half-way to make a half-moon shape and pinch closed with a fork around the edge.
6. Brush each empanada around the edges and over the top with a little olive oil and bake in preheated oven for about 8 minutes, until golden brown. (Note: You can fry your empanadas too, which is how they are traditionally cooked.)

If you want more Latin-inspired after-school snack ideas for the kids, try these recipes too!

Arroz con maiz (yellow rice with corn) is one of my favorite rice dishes. You may think all yellow rice recipes taste the same, but the different ingredients added to the rice do bring unique flavors and textures to your yellow rice, making for special variations. Arroz con maiz has become a favorite of mine due to the sweetness the corn adds to the rice.

This Puerto Rican yellow rice with corn recipe I’m sharing with you today is made using a rice cooker. While traditionally arroz con maiz is made on the stove, I am fond of using my rice cooker and appreciate using shortcuts to save time in the kitchen. I get the same great-tasting arroz con maiz and can share the wonderful flavor of Puerto Rican yellow rice with my family, all with less time. What’s not to love? Read on to learn how to make Puerto Rican yellow rice with corn in a rice cooker!

Directions:

Put rice into your rice cooker’s pot and rinse the rice. If you’re not familiar with how to clean rice, it just means that you run it under water a couple of times and pick out the dark grains, pebbles, etc. To do this:

Fill pot with water and press rice with your hands.

Pick out anything that’s not a rice grain.

Pour out water, being careful not to lose any of the rice.

Repeat a few times until water pours out clear.

Add water to the pot until the water sits just above the rice. Add more water if necessary.

Add remaining ingredients.

Stir.

Taste the water. If you feel it needs more seasoning, you can add a little salt to your liking.

Cover and set the rice cooker to cook.

There will be no need to stir the rice while it cooks, though you certainly can do so once, about mid-way through. Your arroz con maiz should be done in about 35 minutes. You will know it’s done when you taste the rice and it’s neither mushy nor tough.

Serve your yellow rice with corn along with your choice of meat, and a side salad for a complete meal. Alternatively, you could also serve with beans and a salad for a vegetarian meal. There are many options for eating Puerto Rican yellow rice with corn – just be sure to save room for seconds since this rice dish is delicious!

What is your favorite way to eat arroz con maiz (Puerto Rican yellow rice with corn)?

The Lenten season began yesterday, with Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of a 7-week period of meatless Fridays before the Easter holiday for many households. Growing up in a Latino Catholic household, each year my family honored Cuaresma (Lent) by following the church’s traditions of fasting and abstinence from meat. On Ash Wednesday and every Friday after that through Easter, we would not eat any meat except fish. We would also fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Because of Lent, I learned to eat a lot of fish and seafood, with bacalao (codfish) being a popular fish my mom would cook in a variety of ways. Last year I shared her recipe for bacalao en salsa (codfish fricassee), but another way she prepared codfish was in a salad.

This recipe for ensalada de bacalao, a Puerto Rican codfish salad, is one that I grew up eating often and remember it tasting light and fresh, yet really flavorful due to the combination of vegetables and the bacalao. Ensalada de bacalao definitely brings a unique blend of ingredients together, making for a great Lent recipe to add to your meatless Fridays menu. The ingredients for this Puerto Rican codfish salad should be simple to find as well – most can be found in the fresh produce section of your local Walmart – and the bacalao should be in the seafood area. Ready to learn how to make ensalada de bacalao?

We normally ate our ensalada de bacalao with a side of white rice, but you can easily eat your serving of Puerto Rican codfish salad with some bread or even on its own! I’m sure you can come up with other ways to eat your ensalada de bacalao too – I’d love to hear about it, share how you pair your Puerto Rican codfish salad in the comments!

Will you be adding this Puerto Rican codfish salad to your Lenten meatless Fridays menu?

I recently shared my family’s recipe for Puerto Rican chicken noodle soup, which combines fideos with potatoes and carrots for a wonderful warm soup you’re sure to call comfort food. There’s another Puerto Rican soup that’s just as delicious and just as comforting on cold or rainy days – sopa de fideos con salchichón, or Puerto Rican salami soup. Salchichón is a hard salami that is not to be confused with chorizo and gives this soup a wonderful taste.

Sopa de fideos con salchichón is easy to make and you can probably find most ingredients at your local Walmart, depending on where you live. The great thing is that you can make use of the fresh produce at Walmart (and its money-back guarantee) since this Puerto Rican salami soup calls for fresh potatoes and carrots. Ready to give sopa de salchichón a try and see how great it is?

Sopa de Fideos con Salchichón (Puerto Rican Salami Soup) Recipe

Ingredients

Salchichón (Hard salami), about 1/2 a pack – you should be able to find these in the Latino/Hispanic food aisle at your local Walmart

Fideos (Fidelini noodles), about 1/2 of a 10 oz bag – you should be able to find these in the Latino/Hispanic food aisle at your local Walmart or can even purchase them on Walmart.com

Add carrots and potatoes. Lower heat to medium and continue cooking until carrots and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add noodles and raise heat to medium-high heat. Cook about 10 minutes until noodles are cooked and broth thickens a bit. Keep an eye on the pot – if the broth thickens enough, but noodles aren’t cooked, lower heat again to medium and simmer longer. You may even need to lower heat to low-medium if the broth is thickening too much or may need to add more water, depending on your taste and how much broth you like.

Sopa de fideos con salchichón is a soup I remember my brother and I would ask my mami to make when the weather was overcast or if we were feeling sick. It is definitely on the list of Puerto Rican comfort foods and since it’s so simple to make with few ingredients, I can see why it’s so loved! I hope your family loves our Puerto Rican salami soup as much as I do – remember it makes for a great meal to pre-cook and freeze!